On this day: July 5

2012: The Shard in London, England, is inaugurated as the tallest building in Europe, with a height of 1,020 feet over 87 stories.

2009: Roger Federer wins a record 15th Grand Slam title in tennis, winning a five-set match against Andy Roddick at Wimbledon. He's since broken his own record, winning a 16th title at the 2010 Australian Open and a 17th at Wimbledon in 2012, his seventh overall Wimbledon championship.

2006: Kenneth Lay, the businessman whose name became synonymous with corporate abuse and accounting fraud when the Enron scandal broke in 2001, dies of a heart attack at age 64 in Snowmass, Colorado. Lay was the CEO and chairman of Enron for most of the time between 1985 and his resignation in January 2002. He was convicted in the spring of 2006 for conspiracy and fraud for his role in Enron's collapse and was awaiting sentencing when he died.

2005: Vice Admiral James Stockdale, one of the most highly decorated officers in the history of the United States Navy and Ross Perot's vice presidential running mate in 1992, dies of Alzheimer's disease at age 81 in Coronado, California. Stockdale, who was awarded 26 personal combat decorations, including the Medal of Honor and four Silver Stars, was the highest-ranking naval officer held as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. He is perhaps best remembered today for introducing himself to the country during the 1992 vice presidential debate by joking "Who am I? Why am I here?"

2002: Legendary Boston Red Sox player Ted Williams dies of cardiac arrest at age 83 in Inverness, Florida. A 19-time All-Star and two-time American League Most Valuable Player winner, Williams led the league in batting six times and won the Triple Crown twice. He was the last MLB player to bat over .400 in a season (.406 in 1941) and had a career batting average of .344 with 521 home runs. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966.

1999: President Bill Clinton imposes trade and economic sanctions against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

1996: Dolly the sheep becomes the first mammal cloned from an adult cell.

1995: Armenia adopts its constitution, four years after their independence from the Soviet Union.

1989: Oliver North is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell to a three-year suspended prison term, two years probation, $150,000 in fines and 1,200 hours community service for his role in the Iran-Contra affair. His convictions were later overturned.

1989: The pilot episode of "Seinfeld," then known as "The Seinfeld Chronicles," premieres on TV. It was re-broadcast June 28, 1990, after the show had been picked up as a series.

1969: Rapper, producer, actor and filmmaker RZA, the de facto leader of the rap group Wu-Tang Clan, is born Robert Fitzgerald Diggs in Brooklyn, New York. In addition to his work with Wu-Tang Clan and as a solo artist, RZA has acted in several movies, including "American Gangster," "Ghost Dog," "Funny People," "Due Date" and "Repo Men," and was a regular during the fifth season of the Showtime series "Californication" in 2012. He made his directorial debut with 2012's "The Man with the Iron Fists," which he also co-wrote and starred in.

1963: "The Sopranos" and "Nurse Jackie" actress Edie Falco is born in Brooklyn, New York.

1958: Cartoonist Bill Watterson, best known as the creator of the comic strip "Calvin and Hobbes," is born in Washington, D.C. The reclusive Watterson cherishes his private life and was rarely seen in public or gave interviews even during the strip's run from 1985 to 1995. After retiring the strip, he again retreated into a private life in northeast Ohio. Seen here is the cover of the first collection of "Calvin and Hobbes" comic strips, released in April 1987.

1954: Elvis Presley's first commercial recording session takes place at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee. The song he recorded was "That's All Right (Mama)."

1950: The Battle of Osan, the first clash between American and North Korean forces during the Korean War, takes place. At right is Pfc. Kenneth Shadrick, who was killed by enemy fire a few moments after this photo was taken, thus becoming the first United States soldier to die in the Korean campaign.

1950: Singer-songwriter Huey Lewis, best known for his band Huey Lewis and the News, is born Hugh Anthony Cregg III in New York City.

1947: Larry Doby signs a contract with the Cleveland Indians, becoming the first black player in the American League. Jackie Robinson had broken the color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers in the National League 11 weeks earlier.

1946: The bikini bathing suit, designed by Louis Reard, makes its debut during an outdoor fashion show at the Molitor Pool in Paris. The suit was worn by 19-year-old Micheline Bernardini, a nude dancer from the Casino de Paris.

1944: Singer-songwriter Robbie Robertson, best known for his work as lead guitarist and primary lyricist within The Band, is born Jaime Robert Klegerman in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Robertson is credited for writing such classics as "The Weight," "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" and "Up On Cripple Creek."

1937: Spam, the luncheon meat, is introduced into the market by the Hormel Foods Corporation.

1935: The National Labor Relations Act, which governs labor relations in the United States, is signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

1928: Actor Warren Oates, best known for movies such as "The Wild Bunch," "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia," "Two-Lane Blacktop," "Race with the Devil" and "Stripes" (pictured), is born in Depoy, Kentucky. He died of heart attack at the age of 53 on April 3, 1982.

1865: The Salvation Army is founded by William Booth in the East End of London, England.

1811: Venezuela becomes the first South American country to declare independence from Spain, as depicted here in this 1876 painting by Venezuelan painter Martín Tovar y Tovar.

1810: P.T. Barnum, the showman, entertainer and businessman remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and for founding the circus that became the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, is born in Bethel, Connecticut.

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